October 26, 2018

Torres Small raises big money once again in 2nd Congressional District race

Congressional candidate Xochitl Torres Small once again dominated fundraising in the federal races, according to the latest campaign finance reports, covering Oct. 1 to Oct. 17.

The Democrat seeking the 2nd Congressional District seat reported raising nearly $950,000 in those 17 days. The hefty campaign finance haul brought the water attorney’s total tally to over $3.8 million for the open congressional seat.

Andy Lyman

Yvette Herrell after receiving 58 percent of the votes after the 2018 Republican Party of New Mexico preprimary convention

Her opponent, Republican State Rep. Yvette Herrell, raised over $150,000 in the same time period, and a total of $1.2 million.

Torres Small also outspent Herrell, spending over $1 million to Herrell’s nearly $165,000.

Torres Small also finished with more cash-on-hand, with just over $1 million in the bank compared to Herrell’s $400,000.

Outside groups have spent millions on the race, Herrell’s detractors have spent $2.8 million, and opponents of Torres Small, $1.2 million,according to campaign finance tracking website OpenSecrets. This includes money spent in the primaries, where Herrell faced a tougher races than Torres Small.

U.S. Senate

In the race for U.S. Senate, incumbent Martin Heinrich continued to pace the field, raising nearly $245,000 and spending over $1.3 million. The Democrat still had nearly $1.3 million cash-on-hand.

Republican Mick Rich reported raising over $80,000, including $50,000 he personally loaned his campaign. The contractor still has $115,000 for the final weeks of campaigning after spending just under $125,000. In all, Rich has loaned his campaign $235,500 this campaign out of the $900,000 he raised total.

Libertarian U.S. Senate candidate Gary Johnson, a former governor, raised over $110,000. Like RIch, he loaned his campaign $50,000. Johnson has loaned his campaign $107,000 out of the over-$345,000 that he raised for the campaign. After spending $120,000, Johnson had over $55,000 in campaign cash left.

Other races

In the 1st Congressional District race, Deb Haaland finished with $143,000 cash-on-hand after raising $170,000 and spending $440,000.

Her Republican opponent, former State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones raised under $25,000 and spent over $35,000, finishing with just $30,000 cash-on-hand.

Libertarian Lloyd Princeton raised and spent under $1,000 and finished with $625 cash-on-hand.

In the 3rd Congressional District, incumbent Ben Ray Luján raised $70,000 and spent nearly $245,000, finishing the period with $565,000 in his campaign coffers.

His Republican opponent, Jerald Steve McFall, has still failed to file campaign finance reports, but finished with just over $1,000 after raising $17.76 and spending $550.

The U.S. Department of Defense listed military construction projects from across the world that could lose funding under a national emergency declaration by President Donald Trump. Included among those are projects at military facilities in New Mexico.

All week, we look for stories that help New Mexicans better understand what’s happening with water, climate, energy, landscapes and communities around the region. Thursday morning, that news goes out via email.

While Democrats led the way in fundraising in the latest quarter, federal campaign finance reports filed Monday show, one candidate considerably outraised the rest. NM Political Report first reported that Xochitl Torres Small, a Democrat seeking the 2nd Congressional District seat, raised over $1.9 million yesterday.

While Democrats led the way in fundraising in the latest quarter, federal campaign finance reports filed Monday show, one candidate considerably outraised the rest. NM Political Report first reported that Xochitl Torres Small, a Democrat seeking the 2nd Congressional District seat, raised over $1.9 million yesterday.

Matthew Reichbach is the editor of the NM Political Report. The former founder and editor of the NM Telegram, Matthew was also a co-founder of New Mexico FBIHOP with his brother and one of the original hires at the groundbreaking website the New Mexico Independent. Matthew has covered events such as the Democratic National Convention and Netroots Nation and formerly published, “The Morning Word,” a daily political news summary for NM Telegram and the Santa Fe Reporter.
Matthew has appeared as a panelist for the Society of Professional Journalists’ New Mexico Chapter’s panel on covering New Mexico politics and the legislature.
A native New Mexican from Rio Rancho, Matthew’s family has been in New Mexico since the 1600s.